Preaching

I’m going to let you in on a not-so-secret secret: preaching is really hard. It’s a task that can (or should) make even the most confident man a little weak in the knees. One of the things that’s always freaked me out has been trying to choose the right passage to preach… What if it’s the “wrong” message for the church, or what if I do injustice to the text? And let’s face it, some texts are significantly harder to teach than others.

Here’s a look at three books I want to preach, but have been afraid to:

Obadiah. How many sermons on this book have you heard? Thanks to The Gospel Project, I think my kids have now heard more messages on it than I have (that being, one). But this book, despite being the shortest book of the Old Testament, is rich with gospel goodness, with its powerful reminder that the Lord is sovereign over all nations and that He judges all and He has made a way to escape His wrath.

Genesis. Specifically, Genesis 1. It’s not because I’m afraid to wade into the origins debate, but because I don’t want that to be a distraction from a larger point in the text: this passage is primarily about Jesus—His power, His wisdom, His character and His redemptive work. And too often the origins debate overlooks this important truth. (This, incidentally, I’ve been thinking about coupling with Romans 1.)

2 John. This one is challenging in some ways simply because it’s so short (13 verses!). But again, it’s packed with richness that we can overlook due to the letter’s length. But just think about 2 John 9-11:

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

This is such a strong warning from the apostle John—if you don’t believe what He said and do what He commands, you’re not Christian. Worse, if you allow false teachers to be among you, you’re indicted along with them. That’s heavy stuff, isn’t it?

So, those are a few of the passages I’ve wanted to preach, but have been afraid to—at least up until now. I’m working on my summer preaching itinerary now (and if you’re interested in having me come to your church, drop me a line!), and now I’m praying about the texts to preach—and specifically whether or not to teach some of these. It’ll be interesting to see where He leads.

What are some books you’ve never heard preached? Pastors, what are some books you’ve wanted to preach but have shied away from?

Mike Cosper (pastor at Sojourn) provided a really helpful response: his take is we’re less okay with video’d in music and the like because they’re not part of our everyday life. They break the illusion in a way that a video sermon doesn’t.

And that, at least to me, is part of my concern about video preaching.

While I know a number of guys who’ve gone the video venue route, it really troubles me. We’ve got a problem in North America with consumerism—we take and take and take… and we’re all guilty of this. Some of us just want to take and others want to make it really easy.

As much as we hate this behavior (even when we’re guilty of it ourselves), video preaching can encourage this more than we realize. It risks setting us up to be consumers of information, rather than worshippers of God. And because of that, because it “feels” natural—because we’re so used to life with screens—it allows us to ignore conviction more easily.

A TV show might make me feel something, be it happy, sad or encouraged, but that feeling fades. Usually before the end of the credits. This should never be our response to the preached Word of God. God’s Word is meant to cut us to the core, to search the darkest corners of our hearts, and to reveal the hope of Christ to us. And while there are certainly times and places where video preaching is effective and even necessary, it rarely has the same impact as when someone we know cares for our souls is telling us the truth while in the same room with us.

Imagine you’ve done something really wrong and a friend is compelled to confront you on it. He can do one of two things: he can send you an email, or he can approach you in person. Which is easier? Email. Which is harder to ignore?

The person standing in front of you.

My point is simply this: how you choose to communicate says how much you care. Being in the room says something that a video screen simply can’t.

I’ve always been impressed by people who can spend a lot of time saying very little. Not too long ago I was listening to a pastor speak for about thirty minutes and aside from an amusing story, there really wasn’t much that was actually said. Just a key point emphasized numerous times that didn’t really connect to the rest of what he was saying or a clear biblical concept.

What impresses me about this kind of speaking is it’s usually always followed by lots of head nodding and mm-hmms and various other kinds of acknowledging actions that make me wonder if I’m crazy pills or too faux-mature in my faith to appreciate simple truths.

But these kinds of speakers also tend to be those who complain whenever people say, “I’m not being fed.” It really frustrates them to hear that, and I get why. They work hard on the messages they put together, trying to motivate and inspire. And the people are being fed—it’s just sometimes they’re being fed cotton candy.

And cotton candy is a nice treat every so often, but what happens when you eat too much of it? You get fat, lazy and your teeth rot.

Cotton candy preaching works against itself. Whatever methodology a pastor works from, his goal is the same: to see people grow in their faith. The problem is, this kind of preaching doesn’t do that. It tickles the ears, maybe gives a warm fuzzy, but it doesn’t lead to heart change. And so the good religious advice that might be dispensed goes ignore and unapplied. This kind of preaching just won’t do. Jared Wilson makes this point well in The Pastor’s Justification: “The Scriptures preached with conviction… do what good religious advice cannot, ensuring ‘that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim. 3:17)”.

The trouble with the “being fed/not being fed” thing is it lacks clarity. What’s going on behind the question? For some people, it might be that they, like I can be at times, are a bit too “faux-mature.” Guys like me need to chill out sometimes and appreciate truth communicated simply, but precisely (which, FYI, is way harder than it seems). But more often than not, the question is coming from people whose Dentist is warning them about cavities that are forming in their teeth. They’re spending a bit too much time at the desert table when what they really need is a balanced meal.

Good, biblical preaching builds up God’s people. Let’s have more of that and a little less cotton candy.

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